Saritasa

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of Digital EMS Solutions, an electronic patient care reporting (EPCR) company that provides HIPAA-compliant software to paramedics in Los Angeles County. The solution is an iPad-based iOS app that captures data from paramedics' interactions with patients. Once the data is captured and massaged, the app sends it to the backend website for hospitals, the billing company, and the mandated reporting agencies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

Although I know how to write and read code, I don’t have the time to manage the software or do updates. Saritasa serves as a white label vendor for the app.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We built the app with another vendor prior to Saritasa’s engagement and train clients individually using a turnkey approach. The team primarily does software development. Developers code in Objective-C and Swift, and use HTML5 templates. I submit requests by writing out specifications and drawing pictures with arrows to make the requirements as clear as possible. They then come back with suggestions intended to future proof the app.

They provide ongoing support, and in the last two years, have ensured new machines are in code so that nobody has to touch the servers physically. The team also created our Amazon Web Services (AWS) account from scratch.

What is the team composition?

I work with the project manager and serve as his counterpart for our team. I also communicate directly with developers as needed.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We looked for new agencies after realizing our initial vendor wasn’t providing sustainable service. They lacked the vision to think outside of the box, in addition to possessing limited programming experience and troubleshooting processes. After our search to a few companies, we met Saritasa’s CEO and select team members. We liked the team’s work and approach.

How much have you invested with them?

In total, we’ve spent just under $1 million. Instead of using a retainer, we send monthly update and improvement requests and then receive a bill for the previous month at the end of that period.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in February 2011 and the relationship is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We had one beta client when the app first launched. Now, we serve 27 of the county’s 31 fire departments, in-part due to the app’s user-friendly turnkey format. The increase is significant, but we’re not looking to expand outside of Los Angeles County.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

The project manager is an effective liaison between teams and that communication with developers helps our team better understand project status. They’re responsive to requests and have quick turnarounds that meet the occasionally rushed timeframe. Furthermore, the team makes the AWS fixes future proof to ensure that we’re not affected by future outages. We use Jira and Skype; calls on the latter sometimes include extra resources. I also direct message developers as needed, and always keep the project manager in the loop.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Not only does the team provide helpful feedback on design specifications, but they also have the vision to create things better than how we originally anticipated. Those proactive future proof efforts only make the app better.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Saritasa could scale the team to keep the business competitive as they grow. But there isn’t anything specific because we have a good dynamic with the team. The teams have grown accustomed to each other’s development workflows.

Any advice for potential customers?

Be as descriptive as possible with design specifications and then allow them to ingest and massage those instructions. Their constructive criticism will improve the results and better fulfill the original goal. Likewise, know what the end-result should look like.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CEO of a behavioral marketing agency. We primarily focus on using Facebook to find audiences for our clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We're outsourcing Saritasa to build the ground level of our technology. Our CTO does the architecting and Saritasa implements the software at a granular level.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa was originally hired to develop an app, but that project has evolved into a long-term assignment to build and constantly update two social media advertising platforms

What is the team composition?

They provide one project manager and development teams both domestically and overseas.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

A friend of ours was a client of Saritasa and recommended them to us. We had two or three other competitors we were looking at, but they stood out with a first-rate presentation and we believed their stated commitment to customer service.

​​​​​​​What is the status of this engagement?

We started the engagement in January 2011 and it is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Our clients are very satisfied with our service. Additionally, the Saritasa team is consistently delivering timely updates to make sure our platform runs smoothly. 

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

They have their own internal project management tool to keep track of the progress. For us, there are ongoing platform issues, but Saritasa’s team is always right on it. We have a very proactive relationship. They are very responsive and the work is excellent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They are probably the most responsible and responsive vendor I've ever worked with. They truly go out of their way to provide the most professional customer service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you know what you want to accomplish, and they will deliver for you. They are very proactive and adapt to your business’s needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Curved Space Creative is an app development company primarily developing an iPad app for Porsche.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

Our former developers became unavailable, so we had to find a replacement team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They performed a code takeover and rescued our project. It's a complicated vehicle-delivery iPad app that allows users to explore virtual vehicles with interactive hotspots containing text, pictures, and interactive exercises. There's a large number of tracking functionalities and other elements.

The product has three components: an API and a large CMS that feeds the app—both written in Ruby on Rails—and an iPad app written in Xcode, with some HTML elements. We had to regenerate all three components with our own hosting and there were also analytics that the previous developers hadn’t properly implemented.

What is the team composition?

We have an account manager on their side. We talk to her about overarching issues and she checks in on what’s going on. We also have a specific project manager in their California office who we talk to about our basic project status. The rest of the team is based in Russia and Vietnam.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We received a range of referrals, several of which were for Saritasa. There were a couple of other providers suggested, but they declined the project because of its complexity.

How much have you invested with them?

We've spent around $140,000–$150,000 on their services.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began talking to them in February 2018. We got the code from our previous developers and began working with Saritasa around March.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We haven’t involved the end-client too much into the detail of things. They participated in the brainstorming and made a good impression on the client. We’re fairly close to sending them a final build so unfortunately, I cannot provide any feedback at this point.

We’re not actual programmers, so we haven’t looked at the code. We’ve been working on various iterations of this app for six years. It’s been expanded and developed in that period. We can see when things start going wrong—when the developers are rippling through the app and causing problems. The only issues we’ve had were Saritasa revealing things that were already shaky, then going back and fixing them. There have been no new problems.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

The project is tracked through Jira. We’re able to add comments, bugs, and new tasks, and keep everything on-track. We interact with the developers, but only on a task basis. They also track time on Jira. We don’t use any other tools, except for email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They stand out in terms of honesty. Our previous developers were very casual with the truth, which is a huge issue, as it made us look the same. It’s a stressful thing to take a delayed project that had already run its budget. We have been funding this redo, and we’ve had some fairly tense discussions with Saritasa about trying to do the right thing, but also reining the budget. These have been productive, adult business conversations with resolutions, which is really worth something.

They took responsibility. Once we hired them to work on this, it became their project. They promised to get in and really understand the project, which they did not only on a technical level, but also a business level—even helping us with our client. Their conflict resolution is mature.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We hit a budget issue in the middle and had a disconnect in terms of managing the budget, tasks, and time. They could be a bit more focused on this area, in terms of project management. They should establish a feedback loop in order to ensure that they are delivering in-line with our budget, time, and tasks. This would be less of an issue on a new project, but it is one for a redo.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients have to understand how long these things take. If the client isn’t experienced with app development, they have to understand that it’s a fuzzy process. What we’ve seen with Saritasa is as good as it gets. The process was as regimented and accurate as it was going to be, but we can’t necessarily always work on a budget.

Even when we had budget issues with Saritasa, they tried to do the right thing. They were always trying to get the work done right. This is a necessary level of trust.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of a digital advertising firm that works with pharmaceutical companies. We build websites, develop mobile apps, manage mobile messaging campaigns, and support other marketing- or sales-related products.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We were building a software platform for a client and needed more developers for strategic implementation. We needed a bigger team and deeper technical knowledge than we had in-house.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa helped us architect, design, and build the platform. We’ve now built multiple projects with them.

One project they’ve worked on for us is our conference management application built for iOS and Android. Our clients in the pharmaceutical industry send lots of people to large conferences; sometimes up to 500 employees attend the same conference. Those clients need to manage their employees during the conference—to know where they are, what hotels they’re staying at, what sessions everyone should attend, etc. Our app enables them to manage their employees while on-site at the conference.

They built the app for both iOS and Android. It has a backend content management system that allows us to update content in real time. The CMS is customized so that our project managers, and even the client, can log in and manage the conference. We can also manage multiple conferences at the same time.

This project has been a massive undertaking. They built the original version in 2012. Last year we rebuilt it from scratch in order to integrate new technologies and features. They’ve probably spent more than 20,000 development hours on it.

What is the team composition?

My in-house project managers work with their project managers throughout the process. I’m involved with them in the project kickoff stage.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

I started talking to their account manager six years ago based on a project at the time. They’ve been working with us ever since.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent $500,000–$600,000 a year for the last six years.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since 2012 and it’s going.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We manage probably 150 conferences a year and have a 90% –95% retention rate with our clients. It’s not all because of their work—good project management from our team is obviously important—but it certainly has to do with the quality of the software. Our clients are absolutely satisfied. Everything from the UI through implementation is very high quality.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

We Skype back and forth a lot and email. We also use Jira and Trello. One thing that's great about working with Saritasa is that they have a homegrown project management system with their own CRM. I can call any of their project or account managers at any given time to check in and they can give me an up-to-the-minute update with exactly how many hours they’ve spent on the project.

They're also very fast. Once we start moving, they stick to timelines. They’re really great to work with.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I would say that they get it. I tried a couple of different development firms when I started my business in 2009 but they couldn’t get the specs right and didn’t understand UI. Saritasa has a process. Truthfully, sometimes it can be a little bit laborious at the beginning but it's effective. They ask a lot of questions. They want to know about the business use case and the end user. They want to understand how the user will use it and what features will help them. Then they build it.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would say trust them. They don't go with any random client or project. They want to get to know you and your development team personally. Trust their process because the end product will turn out very well.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m one of the founders of a cryptocurrency startup.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We needed help to develop an application.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their building a web-based application.

What is the team composition?

I have two project managers from their side, along with a technical manager and a sales manager.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We found them through Google. They seemed to be the right size and understand the project. I also liked what they said.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since February 2018.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

I've shown the work to my other founders and they’ve liked it in terms of direction, scale, and speed.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Through Jira, I have access to what each person is logging and what they’re working on at any given time. The communication is done through email and web conferences, and they’ve been able to work around my schedule, which is nice. They’re also very responsive via email generally. Currently, they’re in the process of putting together a report regarding the breakdown of work to date.

What did you find most impressive about them?

This is the first time I’ve worked with anyone in this regard, so I don’t have anything to compare them to, but they’re easy to communicate with, and they understand what I’m trying to portray, whether it be on the technical or design side. They get it right the first time so there’s not a lot of back and forth.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There hasn’t been anything so far but the work is still ongoing.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Be as detailed as possible in what you expect. If you’re creating something brand-new, write out exactly what you want it to be. This way, when they’re putting together the scope and going forward with a written document, there will be less back and forth.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the operations manager and co-owner of Atlas Municipal Services, a construction consulting company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We needed to develop a proprietary software system to track construction inspections, plan reviews, and consulting. There wasn’t a product on the market for the private sector to track plan reviews and inspections, so we decided to hire Saritasa to build a proprietary, ground-up product.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa developed a proprietary software system to track construction inspections, plan reviews, and consulting. We started with a discovery phase where we put together a scope of work. From there, I sent Saritasa screenshots of software I had developed in the past and a high-level architecture of how I envisioned the product. 

So far, Saritasa has developed the actual architecture based on my screenshots. The core features of the software include accepting plan review requests through web forms, along with attached documentation. Customers can also request project inspections through an online form and track them. The software can also run reports based on the data captured.

We’ve been live for over a year, and Saritasa is still adding functionality to the original product. The team has provided three environments: development, staging, and production. We use the development environment to ensure the software has the look and feel we expect. We use the staging environment to test the software, and then we release it to the production environment.

In addition to software development, Saritasa is rebuilding our website.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with six teammates from Saritasa, including a project manager, an architect, two backend developers, a sales development teammate, and the head of development.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We found Saritasa through Google. After I found them, I talked to an old peer who was a mentor and a software developer. He told me he hadn’t worked with Saritasa, but they had very positive feedback in the marketplace. We also chose Saritasa because their past clients were very notable mainstream companies, and all of the reviews were very good.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around $225,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Saritasa in July 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We’ve never approached a product like this before, so it’s been a bit of a gamble for us. However, our concerns have quickly disappeared, thanks to Saritasa’s developers. They have a clear, precise understanding of what we want, and aside from a couple of minor graphical glitches, the software is basically what we’ve envisioned from the beginning. Overall, Saritasa has met our expectations.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

There have been no real surprises regarding the budget. As the product has matured, we've added functionality, and those additions have exceeded our original budget. However, the original base product has met the original budget we had talked about. We use Slack for project management and communicate via Google Meet, Slack, and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Saritasa’s development cycle is very quick. Their documentation is excellent, and their response times to issues or product requests through the developers are very impressive. Overall, we have nothing negative to say about how they respond or develop the product.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The only thing that could be improved is that they work in multiple time zones, which is just the nature of the business. We’re in the Central Time Zone, while some developers are in the Pacific and Eastern Time Zones. However, this isn’t really a complaint.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Define your product parameters. The most critical detail is to ensure you don’t leave anything out. Our scope was a little broad, and it was tough for the developers to develop the software the way we were thinking. Make sure you have your architecture and product development track in your head.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the president of a company that gathers information and records for life insurance companies.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Saritasa?

We needed to develop a custom end-to-end data transmission system for one of our customers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Saritasa has developed a web-based custom software for us. Initially, we had discussions with their team about what we needed to have done and if they could handle the project. We also talked about high-level ideas on how this would be done. Once we agreed to proceed with their services, we were assigned a project manager who handled the development of the software.

We’ve worked on a weekly basis and touched base as needed to implement the features required. Saritasa has also worked directly with our customer to ensure the system works end-to-end and has the features and capabilities both sides need.

The software serves the purpose of internally tracking cases we work on. It tracks activity on many different cases, notes we keep, and all sorts of correspondence we conduct during the handling of the case. The other big part of the software is that it transmits the data we gather to our customer directly into their system.

As for the technology stack, the software is hosted on AWS, and having the API between our system and our customer's systems is a big part of it.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with three teammates from Saritasa, including Stan, who was in charge of onboarding; Daniel, our project manager; and a UI designer. We’ve also worked with several developers.

How did you come to work with Saritasa?

We found Saritasa through a Google search. I did some research on various companies that provided the services we needed. Saritasa had good reviews out there and seemed like a good fit for what we needed.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Saritasa in December 2024, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The software has been in production for a while, and there have been some changes over time. We’ve been using it for more than eight months. Most of the kinks have been figured out, and the software is working as it should. Everyone seems to be happy and using it as expected.

How did Saritasa perform from a project management standpoint?

Saritasa has met deadlines and done everything they said they were going to do. The budget has gone above and beyond what we had hoped, but that’s not their fault; it’s the nature of the beast. Our customer has changed the scope, and we’ve had to do more work.

We communicate via email and Google Meet.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Saritasa’s ability to get things done quickly and efficiently is impressive. We work hand-in-hand with our customer, and Saritasa is a third party to all of that. They keep up with every demand, requirement, and change that’s needed. They do everything in a timely fashion, which is important.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, we’ve been satisfied with their work. There hasn't been anything that feels like Saritasa has done poorly or wrong.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be sure of what you want when working with Saritasa. If you have a third party involved, make sure they know what they want as well.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the City Engineer/Building Official of City of Ashland

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Local political subdivision of the State of Ohio.  Engineering Division includes Building Department that contracted with Saratosa to build a local portal for tracking permit applications and inspections.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Saritasa to accomplish?

• Develop software in lieu of paying high annual subscription fees for already developed software
• Develop portal to track building permit applications and inspections
• Tailor the software based on actual workflow, not prescribed workflow from existing software solutions

SOLUTION

How did you find Saritasa?

Online Search

Why did you select Saritasa over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget

How many teammates from Saritasa were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Software portal for building permit application and inspection tracking

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Increase efficiency to improve customer service.

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Saratosa provided a project lead, who was very attentive to our needs and provided deliverables within the agreed upon timeframe.

What was your primary form of communication with Saritasa?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Peter provided great oversight and correspondence with our project team throughout the development of the software portal.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Saritasa could have done differently?

I have no recommendations for improvements as we are very pleased with the services received.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CEO of New Beginnings Sober Living Foundation dba Changing the Faces of Homelessness

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

CFH provide housing for the homeless

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Saritasa to accomplish?

• To create our data entry network WEN

SOLUTION

How did you find Saritasa?

Online Search

Why did you select Saritasa over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Saritasa were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Sarisita developed our data entry network WEN. The program was implemented to help track our services and create clients files where our intake information would be stored.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The measurable outcome was to have the system completed and ready to rollout by 09/2024

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The project management was great. The team responded within timely manner and kept our staff updated with any changes or concerns.

What was your primary form of communication with Saritasa?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The willingness to work with a small nonprofit by accepting our payment plan arrangement.  Also the team was very informative and responded to our questions and concerns within a timely manner. Overrall the customer service was excellent.

Are there any areas for improvement or something Saritasa could have done differently?

No.